Back home, India (Azh)are (Ban)glad(esh)

The sponsor was the same as the previous tournament (Coca-Cola). The format, too, was the same (a triangular series). But besides hosts India, the tournament would feature neighbours Bangladesh and Kenya.

The Indians made five changes to their playing eleven – Sachin Tendulkar, Nayan Mongia, V V S Laxman, Anil Kumble and Venkatesh Prasad made way for Rahul Dravid, Robin Singh, Debasis Mohanty, and a couple of One-day International debutants, Gagan Khoda and Mannava Prasad.

Bangladesh made five changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Shahriar Hossain, Javed Omar, Akram Khan, Shafiuddin Ahmed and Shariful Haque made way for Athar Ali Khan, Minhajul Abedin, Naimur Rahman, and a couple of One-day International debutants, Mehrab Hossain [a shot off whose (Lam)bat struck the skull of the former India cricketer Raman in a club match earlier that year, resulting in the untimely demise of the swashbuckling batsman] and Morshed Ali Khan.

On winning the toss, Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s skipper, inserted the visitors. Sanwar Hossain, who faced four balls, didn’t get off the mark. An over into the match, Ajit Agarkar broke the two-run stand. Athar, whose 27-ball innings included a boundary, scored 15. Forty-five balls later, he was caught by Mohanty. Agarkar broke the 31-run stand.

Abedin, who faced 40 balls, scored 14. Thirty-seven balls later, he was caught by Dravid. Singh broke the 19-run stand. Mehrab, whose 13-ball innings included a boundary, scored (Sangh)VI. Nineteen balls later, Rahul broke the nine-run stand.

Rahman, who faced 58 balls, scored 25. A hundred and thirty-four balls later, he was caught by Azharuddin. Sanghvi broke the 71-run partnership. Aminul Islam, whose 126-ball innings included five boundaries, scored 70. Forty-three balls later, Agarkar broke the 31-run stand.

Mohammad Rafique, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. Five balls later, he was caught by Mohanty. Hrishikesh Kanitkar broke the nine-run stand. The eighth-wicket pair put on 10. Hasibul Hossain, who faced three balls, scored a run. Nine balls later, Prasad (better known by his initials, M S K) and Agarkar ran him out.

The ninth-wicket pair put on a couple. Khaled Mahmud, whose 35-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 31. A couple of balls later, Prasad ran him out. His namesake, Mashud, didn’t face a ball. He was unbeaten.

India conceded 21 extras. Bangladesh scored 184 for the loss of nine wickets off 50 overs. Sourav Ganguly, who bowled half-a-dozen overs, conceded 21. He was wicketless, as was Mohanty, who bowled seven overs, including a maiden. He conceded 18.

Kanitkar, who bowled nine overs, conceded 30. He picked up a wicket, as did Singh, who bowled 10 overs, conceding 32. Sanghvi, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 35. He picked up a couple of wickets. Agarkar bowled eight overs, including a maiden. He conceded 41, picking up three scalps.

Although his 14-ball innings included a boundary, Ganguly had no reason to be in seventh heaven – 19 balls into the chase, he was caught by Morshed, who broke the 12-run stand. Azharuddin, whose 41-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, scored 31. Seventy balls later, he was caught by Mashud. Mahmud broke the 43-run stand.

Khoda, whose 56-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 26. Thirty-eight balls later, he was caught by Mashud. Athar broke the 30-run stand. Dravid, who faced 22 balls, scored five. Forty-one balls later, he was caught by Athar, who broke the 20-eun stand.

Ajay Jadeja, the player of the match, scored 73. His 101-ball innings included eight boundaries. Seventeen overs later, he was caught by Mashud. Hasibul broke the 78-run partnership. Singh, whose 37-ball innings included a boundary, scored 27. He was unbeaten, as was Kanitkar, who faced a ball, scored a run.

Bangladesh conceded 15 runs. India, who scored 185 for the loss of five wickets off 45.2 overs, won by five wickets with 28 balls to spare. Rafique, who bowled seven wicketless overs, conceded 35.

Hasibul, who bowled nine overs, conceded 44. He picked up a wicket. Mahmud bowled 9.2 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 35, picking up a wicket. Morshed, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 31. He picked up a wicket. Athar, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 33. He picked up a couple of scalps.

India avenge lAusses (Azharudd)in final

India made a couple of changes to their playing eleven – the Singhs (Harvinder and Harbhajan) made way for Ajit Agarkar and Rahul Sanghvi. Australia made no changes to theirs. On winning the toss, Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s skipper, inserted the Aussies.

Mark Waugh, who faced 14 balls, had no reason to be in seventh heaven – 23 balls into the match, he was caught by Nayan Mongia. Agarkar broke the 18-run stand. Ricky Ponting, who won the fielder of the series award, faced a couple of balls, scoring a run. A couple of balls later, he was caught by Mongia. Venkatesh Prasad broke the one-run stand.

Tom Moody, who faced five balls, scored a run. Ten balls later, he was caught by Mongia. Needless to say, Agarkar was in seventh heaven. Adam Gilchrist, whose 60-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, scored 45. Eighty-six balls later, he was caught by Mongia. Hrishikesh Kanitkar broke the 59-run partnership.

The fifth-wicket pair put on 36. Michael Bevan, whose 63-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 45. Forty-one balls later, V V S Laxman and Anil Kumble ran him out. Waugh, Australia’s skipper, scored S(t)eventy. His 71-ball innings included four boundaries and a six. Ninety-six balls later, he was caught by Agarkar. Kanitkar broke the 103-run partnership.

Darren Lehmann, whose 59-ball innings included five boundaries and a six, scored 70. Twenty-six balls later, he was caught by Sanghvi. The (Kumb)leggie broke the 31-run stand. The eighth-wicket pair put on eight.

Damien Martyn, whose 18-ball innings included a boundary, scored 16. Ajay Jadeja and Prasad had a reason to be in seventh heaven – they ran him out. Although Shane Warne, who scored half-a-dozen, was unbeaten, he had no reason to be in seventh heaven.

Michael Kasprowicz, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t get off the mark. Three balls later, he was caught by Kanitkar. Agarkar broke the one-run stand. Damien Fleming, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. He was unbeaten.

India conceded 10 extras. Australia scored 272 for the loss of nine wickets off 50 overs. Sachin Tendulkar, who was celebrating his 25^th birthday, and Laxman bowled a wicketless over apiece. While the former conceded a dozen, the latter conceded 11. Sanghvi, who bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceded 45.

Kumble bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 48, picking up a wicket. Agarkar, who bowled eight overs, conceded 61. He picked up a couple of wickets. Kanitkar and Prasad bowled 10 overs each, picking up a couple of scalps apiece. While the former conceded 58, the latter, whose spell included a maiden, conceded 32.

Sourav Ganguly, whose 42-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 23. Fifty-three balls into the chase, he was caught by Moody. Fleming, who celebrated his 28^th birthday by bagging the bowler of the series award, broke the 39-run stand.

Mongia, whose 41-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 28. Ninety-three balls later, he was caught by Gilchrist. Fleming broke the 89-run partnership.

Tendulkar, the player of the match and series, scored 134. His 131-ball innings included a dozen boundaries and three sixes. A hundred and twenty-one balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Kasprowicz, who broke the 120-run partnership.

The Little Master also scored the fastest half-century of the tournament (off 44 balls), and the most sixes in the tournament – nine.

Azharuddin, whose 64-ball innings included five boundaries, scored 58. Fifteen balls later, he was caught by Gilchrist. Kasprowicz broke the 13-run stand. Jadeja, who faced 14 balls, scored 11. He was unbeaten, as was Kanitkar, who scored half-a-dozen. His two-ball innings included a boundary.

Australia conceded 15 extras. India, who scored 275 for the loss of four wickets off 48.3 overs, won by six wickets with nine balls to spare. Mark, who bowled three overs, conceded 20. He was wicketless, as was Steve, who bowled half-a-dozen overs, conceding 28.

Moody bowled 9.3 wicketless overs, conceding 63. Warne bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceding 61. Fleming and Kasprowicz bowled 10 overs each, picking up two scalps apiece. While the former, whose spell included a maiden, conceded 47, the latter conceded 48.

India won the 1997/98 Coca Cola Cup.

Despite lAus, India (Azh)aren't eliminated

Neither the Australians nor the Indians made changes to their playing elevens. Steve Waugh, Australia’s skipper, chose to bat on winning the toss. Adam Gilchrist, whose 13-ball innings included a boundary, scored 11. Four overs into the match, he was caught by Nayan Mongia. Harvinder Singh broke the 17-run stand.

Ricky Ponting, whose 26-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, scored 26, scored 31. Ten overs later, he was stumped by Mongia. Harbhajan Singh broke the 67-run partnership. Damien Martyn, who faced three balls, scored a run. An over later, Anil, the (Kumb)leggie, broke the three-run stand.

Mark Waugh, whose 99-ball (Sach)innings included seven boundaries and a couple of sixes, scored 81. A hundred balls later, he was caught by Sourav Ganguly. Tendulkar, the player of the match, broke the 90-run stand. Michael Bevan, whose 103-ball innings included nine boundaries, scored 101. He was unbeaten.

The fifth-wicket pair put on 20. Steve, whose 16-ball innings included a boundary, scored 10. Thirty balls later, Tendulkar ran him out. Darren Lehmann, whose 27-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 26. Forty-seven balls later, Venkatesh Prasad broke the 53-run partnership.

Tom Moody, who faced 10 balls, scored five. Twenty-five balls later, he was caught by Mohammad Azharuddin, India's skipper. Prasad broke the 21-run stand. Shane Warne, whose four-ball innings included a boundary, had a reason to be in seventh heaven – he was unbeaten.

India conceded 11 extras. Australia scored 284 for the loss of seven wickets off 50 overs. Ganguly, who bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceded 15. V V S Laxman, who bowled four wicketless overs, conceded 16. Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who bowled half-a-dozen wicketless overs, conceded 33.

Tendulkar, who bowled five overs, conceded 27. He picked up a wicket. Harvinder, who bowled seven overs, conceded 44. He picked up a wicket. Harbhajan, who bowled eight overs, conceded 63. He picked up a wicket. Kumble, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 41. He picked up a wicket. Prasad, who bowled eight overs, conceded 41. He picked up a couple of scalps.

India required 254 to pass New Zealand on net run rate and qualify for the final. A sandstorm disrupted play by about 25 minutes. The Indian target was revised to 276 off 46 overs, or 237 off 46 overs to qualify for the final.

Ganguly, whose 32-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 17. Fifty-one balls into the chase, he was caught by Damien Fleming, who broke the 38-run stand. Mongia, whose 46-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, scored 35. Eighty balls later, he was caught by Mark. Moody broke the 69-run stand.

Azharuddin, who faced 20 balls, scored 14. Thirty-six balls later, Moody broke the 28-run stand. Ajay Jadeja, who faced five balls, scored a run. Seven balls later, he was caught by Gilchrist. Steve broke the three-run stand.

Tendulkar, whose 131-ball innings included nine boundaries and five sixes, scored 143. Fourteen balls later, he was caught by Gilchrist. Fleming broke the 104-run partnership. Laxman, whose 34-ball innings included a boundary, scored 23. He was unbeaten, as was Kanitkar, who faced 14 balls, scoring five.

Australia conceded a dozen extras. India, who scored 250 for the loss of five wickets off 46 overs, lost by 26 runs. Michael Kasprowicz and Warne bowled nine wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 55, the latter conceded 39.

Steve, who bowled nine overs, conceded 65. He picked up a wicket. Moody, who bowled nine overs, conceded 40. He picked up a couple of scalps, as did Fleming, who bowled 10 overs. He conceded 46.

Both the teams advanced to the final.

The IndiaNZ (Azh)aren’t the winners

India made just one change to their playing eleven – Navjot Singh Sidhu made way for V V S Laxman. New Zealand made a couple of changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Llorne Howell and Dion Nash made way for One-day International debutant Paul Wiseman and Shayne O’Connor.

On winning the toss, Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s skipper, chose to bat. Sourav Ganguly, whose 36-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 31. Seventy-five balls into the match, he was caught by Stephen Fleming, New Zealand’s skipper. Chris Cairns broke the 60-run stand.

The second-wicket pair put on 22. Azharuddin, who faced 28 balls, scored 11. Forty-five balls later, Craig McMillan, the player of the match, and Adam Parore ran him out. The third-wicket pair put on just three. Tendulkar, whose 58-ball (Sach)innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 38. Thirteen balls later, Chris Harris and Parore ran him out.

Parore had a feeling of (Ja)déjà vu, India’s fourth-wicket pair put on 15. Ajay, who faced 30 balls, scored 11. Forty-three balls later, Fleming and the wicket-keeper ran him out. Nayan Mongia, whose 25-ball innings included the only six of the innings, scored 22. Forty-four balls later, he was caught by McMillan. Cairns broke the 31-run stand.

Laxman, whose 56-ball innings included a boundary, scored 23. Thirty-two balls later, he was caught by O’Connor. Mark broke the 21-run (Prie)stand. Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who faced 24 balls, scored 13. A couple of overs later, Priest broke the eight-run stand.

Harvinder Singh, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t get off the mark. Three balls later, Cairns broke the one-run stand. Anil Kumble, who faced 18 balls, scored 10. Eighteen balls later, Nathan Astle broke the 10-run stand.

Venkatesh, who faced 13 balls, scored eight. (Pras)Adozen balls later, he was caught by Paul Wiseman. Astle broke the nine-run stand. Harbhajan Singh, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored three. He was unbeaten.

New Zealand conceded 11 extras. India were dismissed for 181 off 49.3 overs. Of these, a couple were five-ball overs, and one was a seven-ball over. O’Connor, who bowled four wicketless overs, conceded 29. Simon Doull, who bowled five wicketless overs, conceded 20. McMillan, who bowled half-a-dozen wicketless overs, conceded 25.

Harris bowled 10 wicketless overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 24. Astle, who bowled 4.3 overs, conceded 10, He picked up a couple of wickets, as did Priest, who bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 44. Cairns bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 26, picking up three scalps.

Astle, whose 20-ball innings included a six, scored 14. Twenty-eight balls later, he was caught by Mongia. Prasad broke the 18-run stand. Matt Horne, who faced 11 balls, scored just four. Eight balls later, he was caught by Azharuddin. Harvinder broke the four-run stand.

Fleming, whose 47-ball innings included five boundaries, scored 33. Eighty-one balls later, Kumble broke the 60-run stand. Cairns, whose 39-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 19. Seventy balls later, he was caught by Laxman. Prasad broke the 34-ball stand.

McMillan, whose 122-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 59. Seventy-seven balls later, he was caught by Mongia. Tendulkar broke the 49-run partnership. Parore, whose 38-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 27. Fourteen balls later, he was caught by Harvinder. Kumble broke the three-run stand.

Harris, whose 12-ball innings included a boundary, scored nine. He was unbeaten, as was Priest, who faced eight balls, scoring a couple. India conceded 16 extras. New Zealand scored 183 for the loss of six wickets off 49 overs, (Ki)winning by four wickets with an over to spare.

Kanitkar, who bowled two wicketless overs, conceded 12. Ganguly, who bowled five wicketless overs, conceded 20. Harbhajan bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 30.

Harvinder, who bowled five overs, conceded 25. He picked up a wicket, as did Tendulkar, who bowled seven overs, conceding 28. Prasad and Kumble bowled 10 overs each, picking up a couple of scalps apiece. While the former conceded 34, the latter conceded 26.

The Indians aren’t (Aus)tr(al)i(a)umphant agA(zharudd)in

India made just one change to their playing eleven – Ajit Agarkar made way for Harvinder Singh. Australia made no changes to the eleven that last played India. On winning the toss, Steve Waugh, Australia’s skipper, chose to bat.

The Aussie openers put on 33. Mark Waugh, whose 21-ball innings included a boundary, scored 16. Thirty-seven balls into the match, Anil Kumble ran him out. Adam Gilchrist, whose 29-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 25. Twenty balls later, he was caught by Hrishikesh Kanitkar. Harbhajan Singh broke the 13-run stand.

Tom Moody, whose 39-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and as many sixes, scored 35. Sixty-five balls later, he was caught by Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s skipper. Harbhajan broke the 64-run partnership.

Ricky Ponting, whose 65-ball innings included a boundary, scored 48. Sixty-five balls later, he was caught by Kumble. Kanitkar broke the 46-run stand. Steve, whose 12-ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. Twenty-three balls later, Harvinder broke the 17-run stand.

Darren Lehmann, who faced 15 balls, scored a dozen. Thirty-three balls later, Harbhajan broke the 23-run stand. Michael Bevan, who faced 83 balls, scored 58. Thirty-five balls later, he was caught by Ajay Jadeja. The (Kumb)leggie broke the 31-run stand.

Shane Warne, who faced (Pras)adozen balls, scored 19. His innings included a couple of boundaries and a six. Nineteen balls later, he was caught by Harbhajan. Venkatesh broke the 32-run stand. 

The ninth-wicket pair put on five. Damien Martyn, whose 28-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 30. Three balls later, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Nayan Mongia ran him out. Michael Kasprowicz, who didn’t face a ball, was unbeaten.

India conceded nine extras. Australia scored 264 for the loss of nine wickets off 50 overs. Sachin Tendulkar, who faced four wicketless overs, conceded 21. Harvinder and Prasad bowled eight overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 50, the latter conceded 41.

Kumble and Kanitkar bowled 10 overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 57, the latter conceded 52. Harbhajan, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 41. He picked up three scalps.

Sourav Ganguly, whose 12-ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. Nineteen balls into the chase, Kasprowicz broke the 15-run stand. Azharuddin, whose 11-ball innings included a boundary, scored nine. Twenty-two balls later, he was caught by Gilchrist. Damien Fleming broke the 33-run stand.

Sidhu, whose 21-ball innings included a boundary, scored 11. Thirty-one balls later, he was caught by Lehmann. Moody broke the 15-run stand. Ajay Jadeja, whose 25-ball innings included a boundary, scored 14. Forty-two balls later, he was (Gilchri)stumped. Warne broke the 31-run stand.

Kanitkar, whose 54-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 35. Seventy-eight balls later, Steve broke the 67-run stand. The sixth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Tendulkar, the player of the match, scored 80. His 72-ball innings included nine boundaries. The next ball, he was caught by Gilchrist off the bowling of Fleming.

Mongia, whose run-a-ball innings included a boundary and the only six of the innings, scored 19. Forty-eight balls later, he was caught by Ponting. Kasprowicz broke the 31-run stand. Anil Kumble, who faced 37 balls, scored 14. He was unbeaten. 

Harvinder faced five balls, scoring a run. Nine balls later, he was caught by Mark. Steve broke the five-run stand. Prasad, who faced a couple of balls, scored as many. A couple of balls later, he was caught by Mark. Steve broke the two-run stand. Harbhajan, who faced eight balls, scored four. His runs came by way of a boundary. Two overs later, Steve broke the eight-run stand.

Australia conceded nine extras. India, who were dismissed for 206 off 44 overs, lost by 58 runs. Bevan bowled a wicketless over, conceding eight. Warne bowled eight overs, including a maiden. He conceded 37, picking up a wicket. Moody, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 40. He picked up a wicket.

Kasprowicz and Fleming bowled eight overs each, picking up a couple of wickets apiece. While the former conceded 40, the latter conceded 35. Steve bowled nine overs, conceding 40. He picked up four scalps.

India (Ki)win A(zharuddi)nother tri-series opener

Close on the heels of the triangular series sponsored by Pepsi, there was another triangular tournament sponsored by its rival Coca-Cola. Incidentally, both the tournaments involved Australia and India.

The first match of the triangular series in the Emirate saw the Indians make just one to their playing eleven – Rahul Sanghvi made way for One-day International debutant Harbhajan Singh. New Zealand made five changes to the eleven that last P(atel)ayed the Indians – Bryan Young, Dipak, Gavin Larsen, Andrew Penn and Heath Davis made way for Llorne Howell, Craig McMillan, Dion Nash, Mark Priest and Simon Doull.

Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s akipper, chose to bat on winning the toss. Tendulkar, whose 41-ball (Sach)innings included five boundaries and a six, scored 40. Eighty-six balls into the match, he was caught by Doull. Chris Harris broke the 76-run partnership.

The second-wicket pair put on 72. Azharuddin, whose 54-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 31. A hundred and one balls later, Harris ran him out. Navjot Singh Sidhu, who faced a dozen balls, scored four. Twenty balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by McMillan, who broke the nine-run stand.

Ajay Jadeja, who faced 29 balls, scored 17. Forty-nine balls later, he was caught by Matt Horne. Nash broke the 33-run stand. Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored a run. Eleven balls later, he was caught by Doull. Nash broke the five-run stand.

Ajit Agarkar, whose eight-ball innings included a boundary, scored nine. Twenty balls later, Chris Cairns broke the 16-run stand. Nayan Mongia, who faced three balls, didn’t get off the mark. Four balls later, he was caught by Howell. Nash broke the one-run stand.

The eighth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Sourav Ganguly, whose 140-ball innings included eight boundaries and a six, scored 105. The next ball, he was dismissed by Nash. Anil Kumble, who faced four balls, scored three. He was unbeaten.

The ninth-wicket pair had no (Paro)reason to be in seventh heaven. Venkatesh Prasad, who faced four balls, scored four. Seven balls later, Adam and Cairns ran him out. Singh, who didn’t face a ball, was unbeaten.

New Zealand conceded five extras. India conceded 220 for the loss of nine wickets off 50 overs. Priest, who bowled five overs, conceded 29. He was wicketless, as was Doull, who bowled half-a-dozen overs, included a maiden. He conceded 25.

McMillan, who bowled nine overs, conceded 34. He picked up a wicket. Cairns and Harris bowled 10 overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 47, the latter conceded 45. Nash bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 38, picking up four wickets.

The Kiwi openers didn’t get off the mark. Five balls into the chase, Howell, who faced them didn’t open his account. He was caught by Mongia off the bowling of Agarkar. Cairns, who faced a dozen balls, scored four. His runs came by way of a boundary. Twenty-one balls later, Prasad broke the 24-run stand.

Nathan Astle, whose 26-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 24. Thirteen balls later, he was caught by Mongia. Prasad broke the nine-run stand. Horne, whose 40-ball innings included a boundary, scored 16. Eighty-two balls later, he was stumped by Mongia. Singh broke the 62-run partnership.

Stephen Fleming, New Zealand's skipper, scored 75. His 97-ball innings included seven boundaries. A hundred and five balls later, he was caught by Kumble. Agarkar broke the 85-run stand.

McMillan, whose 66-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, scored 49. Twenty-one balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Agarkar, who broke the 14-run stand. Harris, who faced 13 balls, scored four. Half-a-dozen balls later, he was caught by Mongia. The (Kumb)leggie broke the two-run stand.

Parore, who faced 10 balls, scored nine. He was unbeaten. Nash, who faced eight balls, scored a couple. Nine balls later, Agarkar broke the three-run stand. Priest, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t get off the mark. Three balls later, he was caught by Jadeja. Kumble broke the one-run stand. Doull, whose nine-ball innings included a boundary, scored 10. Fifteen balls later, Kumble broke the 14-run stand.

India conceded 12 extras. New Zealand, who were dismissed for 205 off 47.5 overs, lost by 15 runs. Ganguly, who bowled a wicketless over, conceded four. Tendulkar, who bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceded 13. Kanitkar, who bowled seven wicketless overs, conceded 29.

Singh, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 32. He picked up a wicket. Prasad, who bowled eight overs, conceded 48. He picked up a couple of wickets. Kumble, who bowled 9.5 overs, conceded 39. He picked up three wickets. Agarkar bowled 10 overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 35, picking up four scalps.

India suffer lAus (Azharudd)in final

India made a couple of changes to their playing eleven – V V S Laxman and Debasis Mohanty made way for Navjot Singh Sidhu and Anil Kumble. Australia made just one change to the eleven that last played the Indians – Gavin Robertson made way for Damien Martyn.

On winning the toss, Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s skipper, chose to bat. Tendulkar, whose 24-ball (Sach)innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 15. Sixty-one balls into the match, he was caught by Adam Gilchrist. Damien Fleming broke the 37-run stand.

Sourav Ganguly, whose 54-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 29. Twenty-six balls later, he was caught by Gilchrist. Tom Moody broke the 21-run stand. Azharuddin, whose 63-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 44. A hundred and one balls later, he was caught by Michael Bevan. Steve Waugh, Australia’s skipper and the player of the match, broke the 70-run partnership.

Sidhu, whose 52-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 38. Fifteen balls later, he was caught by Fleming. Steve broke the 16-run stand. Hrishikesh Kanitkar, whose 29-ball innings included a boundary, scored 18. Fifty balls later, Fleming broke the 33-run stand.

Ajit Agarkar, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored four. Nine balls later, he was caught by Steve. Shane Warne broke the eight-run stand. Ajay Jadeja, the player of the series, scored 48. His 49-ball innings included five boundaries. Twenty-four balls later, he was caught by Michael Kasprowicz, who broke the 23-run stand.

Nayan Mongia, whose 15-ball innings included a boundary, scored 14. Five balls later, he was caught by Bevan. Needless to say, Fleming was in seventh heaven. Kumble, who faced a ball, scored a run. He was unbeaten.

Venkatesh Prasad, who faced three balls, scored a run. Four balls later, Kasprowicz broke the two-run stand. The last-wicket pair didn’t open its account. Rahul Sanghvi, who faced a couple of balls didn’t get off the Mark. The younger of the Waugh twins ran him out.

Australia conceded 15 extras. India were dismissed for 227 off 49.3 overs. Darren Lehmann, who bowled three wicketless overs, conceded a dozen. Moody and Warne bowled 10 overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 40, the latter conceded 35.

Steve, who bowled seven boundaries, conceded 42. He picked up a couple of wickets, as did Kasprowicz, who bowled 9.3 overs, conceding 43. Fleming bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 47, picking up three scalps.

Gilchrist, who faced two balls, scored a run. Seven balls into the chase, he was caught by Tendulkar. Agarkar broke the six-run stand. Mark, whose 32-ball innings included a boundary, scored 20. Fifty-nine balls later, Kumble broke the 50-run partnership.

Ricky Ponting, whose 51-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, scored 41. Fifty-nine balls later, he was stumped by Mongia. Sanghvi broke the 28-run stand. Bevan, whose 127-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 75. He was unbeaten. Warne, whose run-a-ball innings included a boundary, scored 14. Thirty-one balls later, Prasad broke the 27-run stand.

Steve, whose 54-ball innings included four boundaries and three sixes, scored 57. A hundred and eleven balls later, Kumble broke the 99-run partnership. Moody, who faced 13 balls, scored four. Eighteen balls later, he was caught by Jadeja. Agarkar broke the nine-run stand. Lehmann, whose four-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. He was unbeaten.

India conceded 13 extras. Australia, who scored 231 for the loss of six wickets off 48.4 overs, won by four wickets with eight balls to spare. Tendulkar, who bowled five overs, conceded 13. He was wicketless, as was Kanitkar, who bowled seven overs, conceding 35.

Prasad, who bowled seven overs, conceded 43. He picked up a wicket, as did Sanghvi, who bowled 10 overs, conceding 45. Kumble bowled 9.4 overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 36, picking up two wickets. Agarkar bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 53, picking up a couple of scalps.

The Aussies won the 1997/98 Pepsi Triangular Series.

India beat Zimbabwe, (Azharudd)in final

India made a couple of changes to their playing eleven – Vinod Kambli and Anil Kumble made way for One-day International debutant V V S Laxman and Debasis Mohanty. Zimbabwe also made a couple of changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Craig Wishart and Andy Whittall made way for Paul Strang and Gary Brent.

On winning the toss, Alastair Campbell, Zimbabwe’s skipper, inserted the hosts. Sachin Tendulkar, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. Twenty-one balls into the match, he (Mbang)was caught by Andy Flower. Pommie broke the eight-run stand.

Laxman, who faced three balls, didn’t get off the mark. Three dot balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Mbangwa. Sourav Ganguly, whose (Hea)thirty-ball innings included a boundary, scored 13. Twenty-seven balls later, he was caught by Andy Flower. Streak broke the 18-run stand.

Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s skipper and the player of the match, scored 153. His 150-ball innings included 17 boundaries and a six. He was unbeaten, as was Ajay Jadeja, who scored 116. His 121-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries and a couple of sixes.

Their unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 275 was the world record partnership for any wicket, eclipsing the second-wicket partnership of 263 between Aamer Sohail and Inzamam-ul-Haq for Pakistan against New Zealand at Sharjah in 1993/94.

Zimbabwe conceded 18 extras. India scored 301 for the loss of three wickets off 50 overs. Grant Flower, who bowled four wicketless overs, conceded 21. Brent, who bowled five wicketless overs, conceded 26.

Craig Evans, who bowled half-a-dozen wicketless overs, conceded 39. Guy Whittall, who bowled eight wicketless overs, conceded 68. Huckle bowled eight wicketless overs, including (Ad)amaiden. He conceded 42. Mbangwa, who bowled nine overs, conceding 47. He picked up a couple of wickets. Streak, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 56. He picked up a wicket.

Campbell, whose 17-ball innings included a boundary, scored 11. Five overs into the chase, he was caught by Azharuddin. Venkatesh Prasad broke the 23-run stand. Murray, whose 34-ball (Goodw)innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, scored 47. Fifty-five balls later, he was caught by Hrishikesh Kanitkar. Ajit Agarkar broke the 69-run partnership.

Andy Flower, who faced 11 balls, scored three. Seventeen balls later, Agarkar broke the 12-run stand. The fourth-wicket pair put on 17. Whittall, whose 10-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 13. Fifteen balls later, Tendulkar and Nayan Mongia ran him out.

Streak, whose 36-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 30. Seventy-two balls later, Ganguly broke the 67-run stand. The sixth-wicket pair put on 16. Strang, who faced 17 balls, scored eight. Twenty-three balls later, Mongia ran him out.

Evans, who faced nine balls, scored four. His runs came by way of a boundary. Fifteen balls later, Ganguly was in seventh heaven. Grant Flower, whose 118-ball innings included eight boundaries, scored 102. Forty-nine balls later, he was caught by Rahul Sanghvi, who broke the 44-run partnership.

Mbangwa, whose nine-ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. Fifteen balls later, he was caught by Prasad. Kanitkar broke the 14-run stand. The last-wicket pair didn’t open its account. Brent, whose 36-ball innings included a boundary, scored 24. The next ball, he was dismissed by Kanitkar. Huckle, who didn’t face a ball, was unbeaten.

India conceded 19 extras. Zimbabwe, who were dismissed for 269 off 48.4 overs, lost by 32 runs. Tendulkar, who bowled a couple of overs, conceded 20. He was wicketless, as was Mohanty, who bowled 10 overs, conceding 54.

Sanghvi and Prasad bowled seven overs each, picking up a wicket each. While the former conceded 44, the latter conceded 40. Kanitkar, who bowled 6.4 overs, conceded 26. He picked up two wickets. Agarkar and Ganguly bowled eight overs each, picking up a couple of scalps each. While the former conceded 45, the latter conceded 34.

India advanced to the final.

India’s win is (Az)hardly A(u)surprise

India made no changes to their playing eleven. The Australians made just one changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Damien Martyn made way for Gavin Robertson. On winning the toss, Steve Waugh, the latter’s skipper, chose to bat.

Mark Waugh, whose 11-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. Sixteen balls into the match, he was caught by Nayan Mongia. Venkatesh broke the opening stand, which was worth (Pras)adozen.

Adam Gilchrist, whose 14-ball innings included two boundaries, scored 11. Thirty-one balls later, he was caught by Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s skipper. Ajit Agarkar broke the 23-run stand.

Michael Bevan, whose 25-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 16. Fifty-four balls later, Hrishikesh Kanitkar broke the 36-run stand. Darren Lehmann, whose 25-ball innings included a boundary, scored 18. Fifty-four balls later, Rahul Sanghvi broke the 35-run stand.

Steve, whose faced a couple of balls, didn’t get off the mark. Three balls later, he was stumped by Mongia. Kanitkar broke the two-run stand. Ricky Ponting, whose 139-ball innings included five boundaries, scored 84. A hundred and thirteen balls later, he was caught by Kanitkar. Agarkar broke the 77-run partnership.

Shane Warne, who faced three balls, scored a couple. Half-a-dozen balls later, he was stumped by Mongia. Anil, also a (Kumb)leg-spinner, broke the five-run stand. Tom Moody, whose 70-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 44. Eighteen balls later, Agarkar broke the 26-run stand.

Robertson, whose 12-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 15. A couple of balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Agarkar, who broke the two-run stand. Michael Kasprowicz, who faced a couple of balls, scored as many. He was unbeaten, as was Damien Fleming, who faced a couple of balls, scoring three.

India conceded 21 extras. Australia conceded 222 for the loss of nine wickets off 50 overs. Sachin Tendulkar, who bowled four wicketless overs, conceded 19. Prasad, who bowled half-a-dozen overs, conceded 33. He picked up a wicket.

Kumble and Sanghvi bowled 10 overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 42, the latter, whose spell included a maiden, conceded 38. Kanitkar bowled 10 overs, including a maiden, conceded 33. He picked up a couple of wickets. Agarkar, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 46. He picked up four scalps.

Tendulkar, the player of the match, scored 100. His 89-ball innings included five boundaries and seven sixes. A hundred and sixty-nine balls later, he was caught by Martyn, the substitute. Warne broke the 175-run partnership.

Azharuddin, who faced eight balls, scored three. Nineteen balls later, he was caught by Kasprowicz, who broke the eight-run stand. Sourav Ganguly, whose 104-ball innings included nine boundaries and a six, scored 72. Twenty-three balls later, he was caught by Gilchrist. Kasprowicz broke the 14-run stand.

Vinod Kambli, whose 30-ball innings included a boundary, scored 17. Thirty-eight balls later, Bevan broke the 15-run stand. Ajay Jadeja, who faced 31 balls, scored half-a-dozen. He was unbeaten, as was Kanitkar, who faced 10 balls, scoring seven.

Australia conceded 18 extras. India, who conceded 223 for the loss of four wickets off 44.3 overs, won by six wickets with 33 balls to spare. Moody, who bowled three wicketless overs, conceded 26.

Lehmann bowled four wicketless overs, including a maiden. He conceded 28. Robertson, who bowled 7.3 wicketless overs, conceded 34. Fleming, who bowled nine wicketless overs, conceded 42.

Bevan, who bowled two overs, conceded eight. He picked up a wicket, as did Warne, who bowled nine overs, conceding 43. Kasprowicz bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 39, picking up two scalps.   

All iZ(imbab)well for Azhar-led India

India made (Srina)three changes to their playing eleven – Navjot Singh Sidhu, Javagal and Debasis Mohanty made way for Sourav Ganguly, Venkatesh Prasad and Rahul Sanghvi. Zimbabwe made five changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Andy Waller, David Houghton, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes and John Rennie made way for Murray Goodwin, Craig Wishart, Andy Whittall, Pommie Mbangwa and Adam Huckle.

On winning the toss, Alastair Campbell, Zimbabwe’s skipper, inserted the hosts, whose openers put on 17. Sachin Tendulkar, who faced 17 balls, scored just five. Fifty balls into the match, Campbell ran him out. Mohammad Azharuddin, India's skipper, faced a ball, and didn’t open his account. The next ball, he was caught by Campbell off the bowling of Heath Streak.

The third-wicket pair put on 78. Vinod Kambli, whose 45-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 39. Eighty-six balls later, Goodwin and Andy Flower ran him out. Ganguly, whose 129-ball innings included seven boundaries and a six, scored 82. Eighty-eight balls later, he was caught by Wishart. Guy Whittall broke the 71-run partnership.

Ajay Jadeja, whose 77-ball innings included five boundaries and a six, scored 79. He was unbeaten. Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the player of the match, scored 35. His 31-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six. Sixty-three balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Streak, who broke the 78-run stand. Nayan Mongia, who faced three balls, scored four. He was unbeaten.

Zimbabwe conceded 30 extras. India, who scored 274 for the loss of five wickets off 50 overs. Huckle, who faced half-a-dozen wicketless overs, conceded 33. Andy Whittall had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he conceded 38, and was wicketless.

Mbangwa, who bowled eight wicketless overs, conceded 28. Craig Evans, who bowled 10 wicketless overs, conceded 50. Guy, who bowled nine overs, conceded 70. He picked up a wicket. Streak bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 42, picking up a couple of scalps.

Campbell, whose 69-ball innings included five boundaries, scored 60. A hundred and thirty-nine balls into the chase, he was stumped by Mongia. Kanitkar broke the 121-run partnership. Goodwin, whose 13-ball innings included a boundary, scored 11. Sixteen balls later, he was caught by Kanitkar, who broke the 15-run stand.

Grant Flower, whose 84-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 57. Fifteen balls later, he was caught by Jadeja. Tendulkar broke the 10-run stand. Evans, whose 34-ball innings included eight boundaries, scored 46. Forty-nine balls later, he was stumped by Mongia. Sanghvi broke the 66-run partnership.

Andy Flower, whose 34-ball innings included a boundary, scored 25. Twenty balls later, he was caught by Azharuddin. Anil Kumble broke the 12-ruun stand. Guy, who faced 13 balls, scored nine. Four balls later, he was caught by Sanghvi, who broke the two-run stand.

Streak, whose 23-ball innings included a boundary, scored 16. He was unbeaten. Wishart had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored just four. A dozen balls later, he was caught by the left-arm spinner, who broke the (Sangh)VI-run stand. Andy Whittall, who faced 15 balls, scored eight. Twenty-two balls later, Agarkar broke the 14-run stand.

The ninth-wicket pair put on 14. The man, whose real name is Mpumelelo, faced five balls, scoring a couple. Thirteen balls later, Azharuddin and Agarkar ran him out. The last-wicket pair put on a run. Huckle, who didn’t face a ball, was run out. The next ball, Agarkar had a moment of (Ja)déjà vu – he and the ace fielder ran him out.

India conceded 23 extras. Zimbabwe, who were dismissed for 261 off 48.3 overs, lost by 13 runs. Ganguly, who bowled three overs, conceded 17. He was wicketless, as was Prasad, who bowled eight overs, conceding 43. Tendulkar, who bowled five overs, conceded 36. He picked up a wicket.

Agarkar, who bowled 8.3 overs, conceded 57. He picked up a wicket. The (Kumb)leggie, who bowled nine overs, conceded 27. He picked up a wicket. Kanitkar, who bowled seven overs, conceded 37. He picked up a couple of wickets. Sanghvi bowled eight overs, conceding 29. He picked up three scalps.

India beat the Aussies agA(zharudd)in

India made four changes to their playing eleven – Sourav Ganguly, Robin Singh, Harvinder Singh and Rahul Sanghvi made way for Vinod Kambli, One-day International debutant Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble and Debasis Mohanty.

Australia made eight changes to the (Reiff)eleven that last played the Indians – Mark Taylor, Stuart Law, Michael Slater, Ian Healy, Brad Hogg, Paul, Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath made way for Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Darren Lehmann, Tom Moody, Damien Martyn, Shane Warne, Michael Kasprowicz and Damien Fleming.

Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s skipper, chose to bat on winning the toss. Navjot Singh Sidhu, who faced eight balls, scored a run. Eleven balls into the match, he was caught by Gilchrist. Kasprowicz broke the run-a-ball stand.

Tendulkar, whose 11-ball (Sach)innings included a boundary, scored eight. Eleven balls later, he was caught by Ponting. Kasprowicz broke the eight-run stand. Kambli, whose 32-ball innings included five boundaries, scored 33. Fifty-nine balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Fleming, who broke the 61-run partnership.

Azharuddin, whose 91-ball innings included 10 boundaries, scored 82. A hundred and eighteen balls later, he was caught by Mark Waugh. Kasprowicz broke the 104-run partnership. Ajay Jadeja, whose 109-ball innings included a dozen boundaries, scored 105. He was unbeaten.

Australia conceded 21 extras. India scored 309 for the loss of five wickets off 50 overs. Mark, who bowled three wicketless overs, conceded 21. Michael Bevan, who bowled five wicketless overs, conceded 34.

Moody and Warne bowled 10 wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 60, the latter conceded 42. Martyn, who bowled 3.4 overs, conceded 30. He picked up a wicket, as did Fleming, who bowled 10 overs, conceding 61. Kasprowicz bowled 8.2 overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 50, picking up three wickets.

The Indian innings included a couple of seven-ball overs – the 11^th (which was Moody’s second over) and the 49^th (which was Kasprowicz’s last). Both were allowed by umpire Shyam Kumar Bansal.

Australia were fined an over due to a slow over rate. Mark, whose (Srina)thirty-one-ball innings included three boundaries and a six, scored 28. Sixty-eight balls into the chase, he was caught by Agarkar. Javagal broke the 102-run partnership.

Adam Gilchrist, whose 45-ball innings included 10 boundaries and a six, scored 61. Five balls later, he was caught by Azharuddin. Agarkar broke the four-run stand. Ponting, who faced 29 balls, scored a dozen. Forty-seven balls later, he was caught by Azharuddin. Kanitkar broke the 37-run stand.

Steve Waugh, the Aussie skipper, scored 26. His 33-ball innings included a boundary. Sixty-nine balls later, he was caught by Tendulkar, the player of the match, who broke the 60-run partnership.

Lehmann, who faced 13 balls, scored eight. Twenty-two balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Tendulkar, who broke the 20-run stand. Bevan, whose 82-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 65. Twenty-nine balls later, he was stumped by Mongia. Tendulkar broke the 16-run stand.

Moody, whose run-a-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 23. Mongia had a reason to be in seventh heaven – he stumped him. Tendulkar broke the 14-run stand. Warne, who faced half-a-dozen balls, didn’t get off the mark. Eight balls later, he was caught by Kanitkar. Kumble broke the one-run stand.

Martyn, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored a couple. Five balls later, he was caught by Srinath. Tendulkar broke the run-a-ball stand. Kasprowicz, who faced nine balls, scored half-a-dozen. He was unbeaten. Fleming, whose seven-ball innings included a boundary, scored five. Fifteen balls later, he was caught by Kumble. Srinath broke the nine-run stand.

India conceded 32 extras. The Aussies, who were dismissed for 268 off 45.5 overs, lost by 41 runs. Mohanty, who faced five wicketless overs, conceded 51. Agarkar, who faced five overs, conceded 31. He picked up a wicket.

Kanitkar, who bowled eight overs, conceded 46. He picked up a wicket, as did Kumble, who bowled 10 overs, conceding 51. Srinath, who bowled 7.5 overs, conceded 41. He picked up a couple of wickets. Tendulkar bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 32, picking up five wickets.